The POPE and Donald Trump.

1. Sign of the times.
    Elections are a singular sign of the times. It shows the state of the soul of the people in these times and it shows the Providence of God working in the history of man. It is important for Catholics to find out whether the soul of the age is in line with the Providence of God.
     It is election time in many parts of the world; one in the US and another in the Philippines. One is purportedly a Protestant nation the other seemingly a Catholic country. But the course both countries are taking are identical and both seems to be going against the Divine Providence of God. 
     The Providence of God states that it is God who rules the events of human history. His Will is always done. So essentially it is God who decides who is the head of nations. He decides the outcomes of elections. This had always been the case and Catholics always accepted this fact specially when the head chosen is the most cruel dictator ever known. We are reminded of this fact by Pope Gregory XVI in his encyclical ‘Mirari vos’ reminding all that it is God who decides who is the head of nations and God usually gives them what they deserve.  Nobody should change what God had declared to be spiritually beneficial to the nation. God does not allow man to dethrone His choice, whether they are perceived as good or evil. 
     If the nation deserves to be chastised then it is given a bad head of state; if the nation is worthy to receive the blessings of God, then they receive a head who will greatly benefit  the people. 
     It is not political platform that brings progress to a nation; it is the blessing of God if the nation is worthy of it. The State of the Nation address should really be a manifestation either of God’s blessings or God’s chastisement.

     The issue in an election is not whether this or that candidate has a good platform, it is not whether a candidate is a christian or not, or even if a candidate is good or bad. The issue is whether the nation deserves God’s blessing or God’s chastisement. Knowing the answer to this will tell us who will win. Elections are expressions of God’s Divine Providence. And the reaction of man is either to submit to the Providence of God or to rebel against God’s expressed Will. 
     The choice was the ancient test given to the angels where one group led by Satan raised their fist against God’s Divine Providence; it was the ancient test when Eve went against the expressed Will of God ‘not to eat the fruit of the tree.’  Depending on the response of man, man goes with Lucifer and becomes devils or gets kicked out of Paradise like Adam and Eve. Or like Michael, submits to God’s Divine Providence and go to heaven. 

2. The universal test.
     Man was placed here on earth to be tested. He must pass the test. The test consist on whether he will submit himself to the Divine Providence of God or not. And to pass the test, God had decreed that man has to be inside the Catholic Church. Man cannot pass the test being outside the Church. Outside the Church, he will surely fail the test and will be punished accordingly. 
     The issue between the Pope and Donald Trump has become a universal issue. Trump had responded with prudence; while the Pope continues to mumble that ‘he is not a christian.’ So the stake has been raised to the issue on ‘who is, truly,  a christian.’ Theologically speaking neither of them are; and here is where the confusion begin. Who, indeed, is a christian. In the broad meaning of the word that could include everybody, both of them are; in the strictest theological meaning of the word, neither of them are. So as what usually happen in all election we are faced with the sin of slander. The definition of slander as taken from the King James and Douay Rheims version is identical.

        A false tale or report maliciously uttered. and tending to injure the reputation of another by lessening him in the esteem of his fellow citizens, by exposing him to impeachment and punishment, or by impairing his means of being believed; another word akin to it is defamation. Slander, that worst of poisons, ever finds an easy entrance to ignoble minds.

      The problem is this; it is not Donald Trump who is guilty of slander. It is Pope Francis!  I, being a Catholic priest, find that very embarrassing. 

3. By  definition.
     A christian is not defined as one who does not build walls. It is closer to define a christian as one who does not tolerate adultery, one who does not practice contraception when there is a Zika epidemic, one who does not praise homosexuality, one who is not an atheist. These are negatives and are not very good definitions. But to say that one is a good christian if he does not build walls is way off. 
    Pope Francis is a very political man, governed by the rules of Public Relationship rather than Scriptures. And news had that Pope Francis’ papal trip to the USA was meant to bolster Obama’s administration and boost Hilary Clinton’s bid for the presidency. All the three of them have leftist leanings, Obama and Hilary from being followers of Alinsky while Pope Francis is a follower of Liberation theology, also a leftist group. Their kinship of spirit had been widely shown in their mutual admiration for each other. Pope Francis, with his comments on the wall, is making a political move in campaigning for a candidate,  forgetful of the theological dogma on Divine Providence. 

4. Who is a true Christian.
     Just as a christian is not defined as one who does not build walls; it is, also, not defined as that made by the international magazine in proving Pope Francis is a  Pope. 
      During this on going election, all the candidates are proving that they are the best choice for the presidency. Their proofs are not what will make them good leaders. Virtues are the infallible proofs that the man is a great man worthy of being leader of a nation. 
      The same thing with being a true Christian. St. Robert Bellarmine noted that all Protestant sects present biblical proofs that theirs is the true religion. But their proofs are such that practically all religions can use them to prove that their own is the true religion. The proofs of true Christianity separates the christian from all other men. The proofs are partially supernatural and, therefore, cannot be made up by men and can only be referring to one true religion, …..the church Christ established, the true Christianity or the Catholic religion.
     And these unique signs that point to the true church and excludes all other churches are; the church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. These are the four visible signs of the true church referred to in the Nicene Creed. Donald Trump does not have any of these four signs.  Neither does Pope Francis have any of the four visible signs. I have been requesting some Jesuit theologian to prove Pope Francis is a Catholic using these four signs, and print it in any Jesuit owned periodical. But up to now no Jesuit had answered this most important question. 
     Then, St. Robert Bellarmine expanded these four signs into 15 signs. If Pope Francis does not have the four big visible signs, maybe he can have just one among the 15 small visible sings enumerated by the Jesuit Doctor of the Church. Again, Pope Francis does not have any of the 15 signs. He does not even have the first signs mentioned by St. Bellarmine. 

5. Not only Trump vs. Pope Francis.
    This political verbal tussle between Trump and Pope Francis has a deeper under current that is more important than the US election. The Pope is in someway a figure of the Church. He reflects the spiritual state of the whole priesthood; the spiritual state of the cardinals, bishops and priests. 
     If the present pope does not have the four visible signs of the Catholic Church or the expanded 15 marks of the true Church described by St. Robert Bellarmine, the possibility is very great that most if not all of the cardinals, bishops and priest do not have the visible signs of the true Catholic Church. We would have a Catholic Church which is neither Catholic nor a church. 
     This means that no one will be able to find the visible signs  in all religious orders, like the Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, etc..etc. It will not be found in ecclesial communities like the Opus Dei, Foccolare, Neo-catechumenical, Charismatics, etc..etc. It will not be found in all Dioceses and Parishes in China, in Russia, in India, etc…etc. This is the reason for my, almost, nagging advice for all, to check on their Catholic Faith. 
     In a random sampling, it has been proven that these above mentioned so-called Catholic entities do not have the visible signs of the Catholic Church. It is their turn to prove otherwise. 
      But the Catholic Church cannot be non-existent. On Good Friday, the 6th day, the Catholic Church personified by Mary and Apostles were around in the world but they were hidden. Nobody knew where they were. It will be so, also, today. 
     The Catholic Church is made up of those very few cardinals, bishops and priest who are contemplating the events of these Lenten Season trying to understand why God had to do this. They are perfecting the four visible signs in their own souls before teaching it to the rest of their parishioners and diocese. This 6th day is the type we are experiencing today. We are not seeing a discussion between Trump and Pope Francis. We are seeing the prophecy on the 6th day being played today. Herod, Caiphas and Judas going against the Church and  we cannot see it because we do not even know what those signs are.